College Sports Blog

Five key questions for Texas Tech entering the 2013 season

1. What are the reasonable expectations for the Red Raiders this season? We’ll cut right to the chase. Texas Tech is in a position to give anyone in the Big 12 a tough game between an improving defense and the standard firepower on offense, but the team is about a year away from being a popular pick to contest for the conference title from the first week until the last week of the season. The 2013 expectations are fairly tame. A bowl berth and a flashy win against the likes of TCU and/or Baylor will suffice.

2. Can a brand new secondary withstand aerial assaults from Oklahoma State and other elite passing offenses? Kingsbury calls the defensive front seven one of the biggest strengths of the 2013 team. However, the secondary will consist of four new starters. It looks like the Red Raiders have good answers at the safety positions in Tre’ Porter and J.J. Gaines as well as Bruce Jones at one of the cornerback spots. The second cornerback job is still entirely up for grabs though. If the secondary can hold up against the better passing offenses in the league, Texas Tech could very well exceed modest preseason expectations.

3. Who can Texas Tech not afford to lose? When 6-foot-6, 260-pound tight end Jace Amaro was lost for the back half of the regular season due to an upper body injury the whole offense seemed way less dynamic. You hate to say an offense depends on one person, but that’s the way it is on almost every team. Once again the Red Raiders can’t afford to lose Amaro, inside receiver Jakeem Grant, wideout Eric Ward or running back Kenny Williams on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, the loss of defensive tackle Kerry Hyder, defensive ends Dartwan Bush and Jackson Richards and middle linebacker Will Smith would be giant holes to fill with no one similar to them on the depth chart.

4. What do you do with Davis Webb? Webb, a January enrollee from Prosper High School, shined in early in spring ball and quickly became the squad’s backup quarterback to sophomore Michael Brewer. The sophomore will most likely win the No. 1 quarterback battle in fall camp. Ideally, you would like to get separation between Webb and Brewer from a years standpoint so Webb can start for two seasons rather than one. The best thing to attempt is redshirting Webb this upcoming season. If Brewer gets hurt for an extended period of time you put Webb in the game and attempt the redshirt process again the next season.

5. Which players will surprise this season? Outside linebacker Pete Robertson is someone who improved drastically through fall camp. The former Longview High School quarterback turned safety, turned defensive end, turned linebacker is a true athlete on the field and presents challenges for offensive players trying to guard him. Offensively, look for redshirt freshman Quinton White make a name for himself both running the ball up the middle and catching the ball in space.

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